Kickstarter: Bicycle Nouveau Playing Cards by Bona Fide Playing Cards

24Jan

Bicycle Nouveau deck is inspired by the historical and mythological heroes and heroines traditionally featured in the French playing cards since the 16th century. As for the art style and design, Bona Fide Playing Cards wanted to pay tribute to the philosophical and artistic trend Art Nouveau, promoted and popularized in France and contemporary to the birth of the first Bicycle Playing Cards in the late 19th century.

The deck was planned to be printed by the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC).

[UNFUNDED – Jan 31 2015]

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Bona Fide Playing Cards did some changes in design, and Eleanor of Aquitaine substituted Celtic Queen, Boudica, – the Queen of Clubs. Several old pictures of the Bicycle deck are here for your interest.

The King of Hearts – King Charlemagne

The Queen of Clubs – Boudica

The Queen of Clubs represents a Celtic Queen, Boudica.

In the picture: The stained glass portrait of Boadicea is in the Colchester Town Hall, which is on the site of the original Roman forum, 1902 (UK).

Boudica, also known as Boadicea, was queen of the British Iceni tribe, a Celtic tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Her husband Prasutagus ruled the Iceni tribe as a nominally independent ally of Rome. He left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman emperor in his will. But this will was ignored and the kingdom was annexed after his death. Boudica was flogged, and her daughters were raped. She organized Iseni and some other tribes to fight with Roman soldiers (AD 60 or 61). These forces won several battles, ruined several cities and killed a lot of Roman soldiers. But Britons was defeated in the Battle of Watling Street (it marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in Britain in the southern half of the island). Boudica then killed herself.